Racing Rematch
by MiChri
Summary: Larry Koopa wants a rematch against the winner of this year's Grand Prix - Lemmy Koopa.


**Hello, and welcome to this little story I decided to write after playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for weeks on end. Just as a note, I play as Lemmy Koopa, which means he won the Grand Prix in this story (because yes, I have won all of the Cups in almost all of the cc's with him).**

**I was inspired to write this story after racing against Larry Koopa almost all the time whenever I play as Lemmy (and the other way around too), and I felt kind of sorry for Larry whenever he got second place. I read on his Wikipedia that he has a "serious case of little-brother syndrome", so I wanted to give him a rematch against Lemmy.**

**Does that mean he wins in this story? Who knows! Well, you will if you read it.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

Lemmy Koopa let out a huge yawn as he trudged out of his room, his hair a mess and eyes droopy. He blinked a few times to clear his eyesight, and a small smile graced his lips. The diminutive Koopaling was in no particular rush this morning, and he didn't have a specific place to be at either, so Lemmy decided to take this time given to him by walking the dark halls of Lord Bowser's Castle...on top of his favorite rubber ball, of course.

Lemmy almost never went anywhere without it.

He stopped near a huge window, the sight beyond overlooking Dark Land. The lava below sizzled and bubbled, and the sky was forever dark. The overall doom and gloom of the Koopa King's Kingdom didn't faze him one bit, as he had grown up in this sort of environment. It was a comfort, a safe haven. Somewhere Lemmy knew he was safe.

He began dancing on his ball, humming a merry tune.

Compared to the last couple of weeks, today was awfully quiet. But then again, that was to be expected when they just came home from weeks of driving and racing – and, in Lemmy's case, selling tires too. Lemmy loved selling all sorts of tires, and business was good whenever Mario and Co. decided to host a racing tournament.

And it just so happened Lemmy was a prodigy at racing, granting him fist place in most races. He even won this year's Grand Prix, awarding him with gold in each Cup. Lemmy had been beyond ecstatic, laughing and jumping up and down and being overall hyperactive – to the point where his siblings had complained about it, calling him annoying. Oh, and Roy smacked him too.

Speaking of his siblings…

"They sure didn't make this round easy!" Lemmy smiled, remembering how brutal the other Koopalings had been during the tournament. One of his eyes drifted over to the wall while the other stayed fixed on the window, and Lemmy frowned.

One in particular stood out to Lemmy.

Larry Koopa.

His youngest brother was just as skilled as him, if not slightly better...because in all honesty, Larry had tailed him almost every round, staying just behind him, hitting him with red and green shells, blasting fireballs at him, throwing him off the road, using the magnetic pull of his racing car to gain more speed, finding secret roads and passages to take his place as number one and...waiting right until the last moment to hit him yet again.

"Hee hee!" Lemmy giggled. "Little bro sure is merciless! I gotta look out next time."

Yes, Lemmy was good at racing. In fact, he was _great_. But he might just have won out of pure luck, because Lemmy could still hear Larry's feline-like laughter whenever he passed him.

Maybe he should just re_tire_ and focus on his tire business. He giggled again.

Having had enough of dancing and humming, Lemmy went on his way again, deciding to head over to the dining hall.

Through several hallways, down countless stairs and around many corners, Lemmy finally found himself at his new destination. Most of his siblings were already there, eating breakfast and chatting – or in Iggy's case, laughing at random intervals and being his own eccentric self.

"Oh hey, there's our champion!" Larry waved from his seat across the long dining table. He was playing on his Switch instead of eating, having pushed his plate aside in apparent disinterest. The youngest Koopaling smirked, turning his focus back on his game. "Never knew you had it in you."

Lemmy waved back. "Hi Larry!"

He was glad to see his youngest brother wasn't sulking from landing himself second place. But then again, maybe his true feelings were just well hidden. Lemmy certainly wouldn't put it past Larry to fume at losing at anything sports related.

As Lemmy rolled his way over to the table, Ludwig put down his fork and glanced at the smallest Koopaling with an appraising look.

"I must say Lemmy, I am impressed." He nodded. "Lord Bowser is pleased you managed to best Mario, of all people. He would have done it himself, but we all know how that turned out."

Oh yeah. Lemmy giggled at the memory of Lord Bowser getting hit with one item after the other – and by none other than Mario himself. Luigi, having had it rough this time around, threw lots of blue shells when Bowser just so happened to be in the lead. Needless to say, all of the Koopalings knew a new plan for Mushroom conquering and princess kidnapping would take place soon, if just to spite the two plumbers.

"...Lord Junior was sad though. He really wanted to win this time." Morton added. He had already finished eating his breakfast.

"Bahaha! We lost too, you know. Do we get to be sad?" Iggy laughed, tilting his head a little.

Roy frowned.

"Don't start guys," He said. "or that runt will never shut up about it."

"You're just a sore loser Roy." Wendy said offhandedly, adjusting her pink bow.

Roy glared at her.

"All I'm saying is if you keep praising him, we'll never hear the end of it."

"I'm still getting a sore loser vibe from you."

"I am NOT-"

Lemmy tuned out the forming argument in favor of taking a seat next to Larry. He jumped from his ball and did a small flip in the air before landing perfectly in his seat. A Shy Guy minion hurried over with a tray of food and set it in front of him, bowing briefly before taking their leave again. The small Koopaling looked at it – eggs and bacon, a classic breakfast dish.

He looked at Larry, who was still immersed in whatever game he was playing. Lemmy poked him.

"You gotta eat, Larry."

Larry ignored him, which only spurred Lemmy to poke him again. And again. And then again.

"Hey, knock it off Lemmy!" Larry shouted, smacking his hand away. "I'm just about to finish this level!"

"Oh okay, then I guess you won't be missing your breakfast if I eat it, right?"

Larry was quiet for a few minutes before setting his Switch down on the table. He turned to Lemmy with a frown.

"There, I'm done. You didn't actually eat my food, did you?"

"Nope!" Lemmy smiled and pushed Larry's breakfast over to him. "But I got you to put down your game, so that's a win in my book."

Larry chuckled. "Right. I keep forgetting you're the second oldest."

Lemmy's smile twitched. "...Did you just call me short?"

"...No?" Larry's chuckles turned nervous.

"I thought so."

The two of them sat in silence – or as silent as a room full of their arguing siblings could get – and didn't even blink twice when a chair flew across the room and crashed into the wall. Roy's shouting drowned out the reprimanding voice of Ludwig, and Wendy stood up from her seat with a huff, walking off to do whatever she does when alone. Iggy had been laughing nonstop for a while now, having somehow whipped forth popcorn from seemingly thin air, and Morton minded none of the chaos, writing down something in his journal.

"Hey, Lems." Larry began with a mouth full of bacon. "I want a rematch."

"What?" Lemmy's eyes drifted their own separate ways, which was the complete opposite of what he wanted them to do. Why couldn't they just work normally, like the rest of his siblings?

"You heard me." Larry continued. "You and me, let's have a rematch to determine who's truly better at racing. I mean, you totally won because of luck."

Lemmy supposed that Larry taking his defeat kindly had been wistful thinking. Still, the prospect of racing one more time against his brother made the smallest Koopaling bounce up and down in his seat, excitement rushing through his veins like a sugar rush.

There was only one problem.

"Sure!" Lemmy cheered. "But the tournament is over, you know? I don't think any of the tracks we race will allow us to use it anymore. They only prep the places for driving when the Grand Prix takes place."

"Yeah, I know." Larry said while combing his hair with one of his claws. The silky blue locks looked as pristine as always. "But Bowser's castle is also used as a track, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind us driving through it one more time this year."

"Really? You think so?" Lemmy tilted his head to the side. "Well, I bet he'll be _furious_ if we race the halls without asking him!"

"Then let's ask him. It's as simple as that." Larry nodded, as if convinced his idea was brilliant.

"If by simple you mean guaranteed suicide, then yeah!" Lemmy giggled. "Let's do it!"

Lemmy didn't want Larry to feel sad and frustrated about his loss, so this was the least he could do. After all, Lemmy loved cheering people up and bringing smiles to their faces. Maybe he would even lose on purpose, just to make his little brother happy.

As if having read his mind, Larry narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, and don't you _dare_ go easy on me, Lemmy. I want to win because I'm skilled, not because my big brother feels sorry for me!"

"Hee hee, okay!" Lemmy shrugged.

Guess going easy on his bro was out of the question.

Once the two of them finished eating their breakfast, they left the dining hall to seek out the Koopa King (but not before Lemmy wiped a few crumbs off Larry's face, to which the latter swiped at him in a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment).

Finding Bowser didn't take long – as he could be found in his throne room, sitting on his throne chair amongst his many decorative barrels. The red and gold-lined carpet led straight up to their King, who loomed menacingly over the many minions standing before him, ready to receive their orders. Bowser grumbled a bit before crossing his arms, and the two Koopalings walked up the path leading to their monarch.

"...And I want youguys to _punch the lights out_ of Mario and that Green Guy. Show them the might of my most elite military units, got it?"

"Yes Sir!"

"It shall be done, your Surliness!"

"We'll be the ones to stomp on them this time, hah!"

Bowser looked pleased. "Good." He said with a grin, and then leaned back in his seat.

As the minions rushed to what would most likely be their doom, Lemmy and Larry became visible for Bowser to see, and the Koopa King raised an eyebrow at the sight of them.

"Larry. Lemmy" He said, addressing the two of them. "Why are you here?"

Larry looked nervous all of a sudden. "Uh, well, you see-"

"We want to race one more time!" Lemmy chirped, craning his neck to look up at the huge form of Bowser. "So can we borrow your castle to race?"

Larry elbowed him in the side. "Yeah..." He chuckled nervously. "But, you know, only if you're okay with it!"

Bowser ran a hand down his face. "Really? You haven't had enough of that nonsense yet?" When silence was his only answer, he sighed. "Fine, whatever. You kids go crazy. Since we haven't returned the castle to normal after the tournament, you can still use it like we did during the event. Just know that you'll have to be ready by tomorrow." He added. "'Cause we're gonna kidnap Peach again."

Larry's eyes lit up. "R-really?!" He shouted, but then cleared his throat. "I mean, thank you, Lord Bowser! We'll get those plumbers tomorrow!"

"Woohoo!" Lemmy cheered. "We'll make sure not to destroy your castle in the meantime!"

Bowser sneered. "You better not, or I'll have YOU TWO fork over the money for the repairs. Just make sure not to run over any of my minions, and _don't_ knock down my barrels. Now leave, I have a lot to prepare."

"Yes Sir!" The two of them saluted, and then left.

"Well, that went well..." Larry said once they were a few halls away from the throne room.

"Yeah! Let's go get our cars ready!"

Larry nodded. "You're on, Lems. Meet me at the starting line."

As Larry scurried past him, Lemmy summoned one of his many rubber balls and jumped on top of it, balancing his way over to what was considered Bowser's garage. When he reached the place storing several different karts, bikes and ATVs (as well as wheels, tires and gliders), Lemmy went over to his favorite bike, Mr. Scooty. He patted the seat lovingly before taking the vehicle along with him after he jumped off his ball, and he briefly noted that Larry had taken the Koopa Clown Kart.

Lemmy found Larry already seated in his chosen vehicle at the entrance of Bowser's Castle, his car ready to go and dutifully placed behind the white starting line. The small Koopaling mounted Mr. Scooty and drove over and behind his own white line, giving Larry a thumps up and a big smile.

Bowser's Castle stood proud and tall in all of its looming glory, and the many spikes adorning the dark brick walls added to the overall menacing appearance it had going. Right above the gate hung their king's grinning insignia, while red banners with golden lines hung beside it, fluttering in the wind. The gate stood open like a giant maw ready to swallow one up, and the cannons manned each side of it dutifully. Fire and lava sizzled and crackled almost like a symphony, and the distant sound of roaring could be heard from within the halls of the castle. The Mario Kart banner was literally on fire with flamethrowers spewing out the burning substance, and there was more than enough of the fiery stuff surrounding them. The flags with Bowser's face on them adorned the top of the many towers.

"Since Lakitu isn't here to count down, we'll do it ourselves." Larry stated. He had taken the position belonging to those who were placed second, which fit pretty well considering that's how they ended up being placed during the Grand Prix. "...And I guess that means we'll have to be extra careful not to fall into the lava and such. Man, that would really suck. I never really thought about how much Lakitu helps us."

Lemmy nodded in agreement. "I don't wanna fall into the lava again. It's not very fun."

"...Not very fun? Lemmy, it's terrible!"

"Yeah!"

Larry looked ahead instead of at his brother. "Let's just start already."

Gearing themselves up for what was about to take place, the two of them counted down from three.

"Three..." Larry said. He leaned forward in his kart, his grip on the steering wheel tightening.

"Two!" Lemmy shouted, his short legs swinging back and forth with much vigor and energy while his eyes focused.

"One..." The two of them said together.

They were both aiming for a starting turbo boost, and as such had started their accelerators. Now all they had to do was wait for the right moment, and then they would see who would win. Needless to say, the sound their motors made had their heartbeats quicken.

"GO!"

Immediately after that word had been spoken, the two of them were sent flying forward as their boost gave them much speed, making bike and kart alike lift slightly from the ground. Lemmy let out a 'woohoo!' while Larry laughed like a cat. As they passed the bridge and drove into the item boxes waiting for them, both brothers performed a jump boost before entering the castle. From there on it was just a matter of getting ahead and driving faster, and Lemmy wasted no time in rounding the first corner with a mini-turbo drift. Since this was the first round, none of the Bowser statues were shooting any lasers at them, and though the statue that pointed them in the right direction was a nice little detail, it was also slightly pointless.

Larry was right behind him, having drifted himself to gain the same amount of speed his older brother had. As with many other instances, Larry used the magnetic pull of Lemmy's car to his advantage and passed him with his signature laugh, and Lemmy was left to stare at the back of Larry's blue shell.

It wouldn't end like that, though. Larry had told him not to go easy on him, so Lemmy would do his very best to win. Down the stairs they went, and around another turn. Lemmy watched as the item box revealed his prize – a green shell. Useful, but only if you aimed it right or if you had it deflect a red shell from behind.

Larry dropped a banana peel which Lemmy swiftly dodged, and it just so happened that the two brothers aligned in a way Lemmy could fire the green shell at him and hit his target – and he did.

Larry let out a frustrated sound as he flailed in his car, but Lemmy didn't stay long enough to watch the result of the collision – instead speeding ahead to retake his position as number one.

They were now driving on the road with anti-gravity sections, and so their wheels changed to adjust to this new road. Lemmy performed a few more mini-turbo boosts before doing a flip in the air when he reached the circling fireballs, making sure not to touch them. He could hear the sound of Larry right behind him yet again, and Lemmy did another acrobatic flip with a joyful sound as he avoided the swinging flail. He landed perfectly and drove right into another item box, watching it spin as he waited for something to either throw or use in any sort of way.

Then he heard the telltale sign of a red shell being fired, and Lemmy braced himself for the impact. Just before it hit him, however, the small Koopaling received a banana peel and used it to deflect the red shell. He sighed in relief. That had been a close call.

And then another red shell was fired at him, this time hitting him right as Larry drove past with that cheeky laugh of his.

Lemmy flailed about before quickly starting his bike up again and resuming the race, his smile still firmly present. He used the three coins he got from the second item box and then did a handstand on his bike when he performed yet another jump boost. He saw Larry just ahead of him choosing the left road where the flaming Bowser Monument was, ready to slam its huge fist into the ground.

Lemmy, seeing that the Bowser Monument would soon strike the left road, chose the right one instead. As the impact of Bowser's fist against the road made the ground ripple, Lemmy performed several tricks and jump boosts to gain speed, and he saw Larry just narrowly avoiding getting hit by said fist. This, in turn, made the youngest Koopaling gain even more ripples to use to his advantage, and use them he did. Now his little brother was even further ahead of him, and Lemmy didn't know whether to feel happy or frustrated about this.

Something within him just wanted to win, and yet another part of him wanted to give this round to Larry.

In any case, now they had reached the point where their gliders came to use. As Larry and Lemmy both gained a speed boost from the ground and slammed into the item boxes, they were both launched up in the air, their gliders automatically appearing to let them soar through the sky. Lemmy swung back and forth to avoid the lava that erupted from below, and then used the two mushrooms he got to get closer to Larry. They both landed smoothly and resumed their driving, which made way to both drifting while avoiding the huge boulders rolling down the road.

Lemmy saw Larry throw a Bob-omb, and Lemmy had to quickly turn his bike to avoid getting caught in the explosion. After that, the two of them cleared first round with Larry in the lead, although Lemmy was right behind him by now.

He received a Fire Flower from the next item box he drove into and immediately fired at Larry, a few of the blasts hitting his brother and thus letting Lemmy gain first place yet again.

It went back and forth like this as they cleared the second round, with Larry and Lemmy both fighting for first place and blasting each other with whatever they received from the item boxes. At one point Larry even managed to get a blue shell – much to Lemmy's frustration – and he suspected it had something to do with the fact that they were only two racing, which meant second place basically counted as last.

It was now the final round, and Lemmy was still ahead of his little brother. He did a jump boost and performed yet another acrobatic stunt as he received a red shell and three coins, which was actually very good considering he held first place. Larry, however, would have none of that and struck him with lightning, which let the blue-haired Koopaling drive past him while Lemmy's pace had slowed considerably. He was beyond small now, something Lemmy actually hated about Mario Kart.

It wasn't the end, however, and when Lemmy returned to normal size and received two red shells, he fired one and saw it hit its target. Larry was just about to reach the end goal despite the slight delay – as was Lemmy – and the small Koopaling hesitated for a brief second. If he fired this red shell now, he would win…

In the end, his pondering made the decision for him as Larry laughed when he drove past the goal, rejoicing at winning over his big brother.

Lemmy allowed himself to smile, feeling oddly satisfied with the end result. As he himself drove past the goal, his red shell disappeared like it hadn't been real to begin with.

This was good – it was a great race, and Larry deserved to win. Besides, it wasn't like he went easy on him – Lemmy couldn't help the fact that he got distracted by his own indecision. Surely Larry hadn't noticed he had another red shell, right?

The two brothers ceased driving right before they entered the castle, and Lemmy went up to his little bro and patted him on the arm. Larry looked down at him.

"Wow!" Lemmy said, his eyes bright and smile wide. "That was great! You were awesome out there!"

"Haha, yeah, I was!" Larry cheered. "I won, Lemmy! I won!"

"You sure did!" Lemmy jumped up and down in excitement. "Hee hee, how thrilling!"

"...You did great too, Lem." Larry said, his voice suddenly quiet.

Lemmy beamed. "Thanks!"

"I guess that means we're equals now, huh?"

Lemmy blinked. "Equals? I thought you'd say you are better now."

Larry stared at him. "...Nah. You could have won."

Maybe his little bro _had_ seen his red shell.

"Whatever, Larry! Just be happy, okay? You won!"

"Yeah..." Larry nodded. "Yeah!" He said, this time with more vigor.

"Let's get our cars back to the garage. Then we can join the others in...whatever they are doing!"

"Okay, sure."

And with that, the race was over.

After they cleaned up, the two of them entered the living quarters where they found Morton, Wendy and Iggy. Morton was yet again in the middle of writing something down, and several books sat atop the table he sat at. Wendy was watching television while Iggy fiddled with a gadget of some sort, none of them speaking to each other.

When Lemmy and Larry got there, the three of them turned their heads towards them.

"Where have you two been?" Wendy asked, looking at her claws.

"We were racing!" Lemmy stated bluntly.

Larry just shrugged.

"Bahaha! Without me?!" Iggy shouted, sounding slightly offended.

"Sorry Iggs, maybe next time?" Lemmy apologized.

"I'm confused. Is the racing not over?" Morton asked in a quiet tone.

"Yeah," Larry began. "But Lord Bowser allowed us to race one final time this year. I think he only granted us permission because we haven't cleaned up after the Grand Prix...and because he wanted us to leave, probably."

"Sure honey, whatever." Wendy turned her attention back to the television.

"Who won?" Morton was curious.

Larry smirked. "I did!"

"Congrats!" Iggy cheered.

"Thanks!"

They spent the next several hours watching television and playing Wii, and one by one, each of the Koopalings began to retire for the day. Bowser had called them in for a meeting later that evening, so everyone wanted to get ready for both that and the kidnapping of Princess Peach tomorrow.

As Morton left, only Larry and Lemmy remained.

The smallest Koopaling jumped up from his seat and ran over to Larry, who had been in the middle of swinging his arm to aim the bowling ball in the Wii game he was playing. Lemmy then hugged him, his tiny arms not able to wrap around his larger brother's form.

Still, Lemmy hoped the sentiment was received.

"Wha-?" Larry began.

"I'm proud of you, Larry. You are great at many things, you know? Don't ever forget that."

"...Yeah." The youngest Koopaling said, stunned.

He then returned Lemmy's hug, wrapping his arms around his older brother.

"Thanks for today Lems. It was great!"

"I had lots of fun too!" Lemmy's eyes drifted apart again.

"Let's just hope tomorrow goes better than the other kidnappings we've tried."

"Yeah, we can do it!"

They let go of each other, both brothers feeling overall happy and content.

Larry then gave Lemmy a feline grin.

"Just so you know...I saw that red shell you had."

Lemmy let out a nervous chuckle.

His brother was way too perceptive for his own good.


End file.
